Rdio to launch $4-a-month streaming service offering 25 tracks a day

The music streaming space is as competitive as ever with prominent services battling it out to attract new users and squeeze rivals. San Francisco-based Rdio is the latest player to pull a move it hopes will help boost its user base, on Wednesday revealing plans for a new low-priced, ad-free package for mobile.

Called Rdio Select, the soon-to-launch subscription option will let users pay $4 a month in exchange for 25 songs a day that can be streamed and downloaded. Keep in mind, however, that you’ll only be able to have a maximum of 25 Rdio tracks on your device at any one time, though you can replace any number of them day to day. The low-priced package also offers access to Pandora-like streaming radio stations.

Speaking to BuzzFeed this week about its new offering, Rdio boss Anthony Bay said limiting the track count allowed it to “license the product in a way that we can keep the price at $4 a month,” adding that 25 tracks “is more than most users download in a day.”

With most music streaming services charging $10 a month, Rdio hopes its cheaper ad-free option will secure it a bunch of new users, with some perhaps switching to become full-fee subscribers later in the day should they find the service beneficial.

Competition in the music streaming space is likely to ramp up a notch next month as Apple is widely expected to launch a new Beats-based service, possibly called Apple Music.

Bay noted that till now a mid-level subscription option in the music streaming space had been noticeable by its absence, telling BuzzFeed, “We’ve all been flying airplanes that had business class only. There is no coach.”

Rdio plans to officially announce Rdio Select today, launching it in markets such as the U.S., Canada, and Australia.